The Battle of Erastfer (also Battle of Errestfer, Battle of Erastvere) took place on 29 December 1701 ( O.S.) / 30 December 1701 (

Swedish calendar The Swedish calendar ( sv, Svenska kalendern) or Swedish style ( sv, Svenska stilen) was a calendar in use in Sweden and its possessions from 1 March 1700 until 30 February 1712 (see below). It was one day ahead of the Julian calendar and ten da ...

) / 9 January / 1702 ( N.S.) near Erastfer in eastern

Swedish Livonia Swedish Livonia ( sv, Svenska Livland) was a dominion of the Swedish Empire from 1629 until 1721. The territory, which constituted the southern part of modern Estonia (including the island of Ösel ceded by Denmark after the Treaty of Brömse ...

(present-day Erastvere in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

) between a

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n force of around 13,000 regulars along with 6,000 irregulars led by general

Boris Sheremetev Count Boris Petrovich Sheremetev (russian: Граф Бори́с Петро́вич Шереме́тев, tr. ; – ) was an Imperial Russian diplomat and general field marshal during the Great Northern War. He became the first Russian count in ...

Peter the Great's Unknown War, Vjatšeslav Krassikov
/ref> and a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

force of about 3,470 men (at least 1,000 men were absent from the ranks for various reasons on the day of the battle, resulting in an actual fighting force of about 2,200–2,470 men), under the command of

Wolmar Anton von Schlippenbach Wolmar Anton von Schlippenbach (1653–1721) was Governor General of Swedish Estonia from 1704 to 1706. Biography Born in Livonia, into the Schlippenbach noble family participated as a captain in the Swedish army Scanian War under Charles XI and s ...

. The Swedes were defeated, with a loss of 1,000 men killed and captured along with all their

artillery pieces Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

.Otto Sjögren, W. A. V. Schlippenbachs lifländska här (Historisk tidskrift för år 1896). p. 307–309 The Russians sustained about 1,000 killed along with another 2,000 wounded (according to a Russian soldier who later admitted, after being captured by the Swedes, to 3,000 total losses).

Aftermath

Although Sheremetev pulled back to

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...

after the battle, the next year he fought the Swedes again under Schlippenbach in the

battle of Hummelshof Battle of Hummelshof took place on July 19, 1702 ( O.S.) near the small town Hummelshof in Swedish Livonia (present-day Estonia). It was the second significant Russian victory in the Great Northern War in which a Russian army under Boris Sherem ...

. Before invading

Ingria Ingria is a historical region in what is now northwestern European Russia. It lies along the southeastern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordered by Lake Ladoga on the Karelian Isthmus in the north and by the River Narva on the border with Est ...

, Tsar

Peter I Peter I may refer to: Religious hierarchs * Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus * Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint * Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholico ...

secured Poland's continued participation in the war against Sweden by promising King

Augustus II Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as Ki ...

of Poland, 20,000 Russian troops, 100,000 pounds of gunpowder, and 100,000

rubles The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union. , currencies named ''rub ...

per year over three years.Tucker, S.C., 2010, A Global Chronology of Conflict, Vol. Two, Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, LLC,

Celebration

It was the first significant Russian victory in the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

. Peter I considered the battle a turning point - the first ever Russian victory against the Swedes in a field battle. Along with a gift of the tsars portrait adorned with diamonds,

Sheremetev The House of Sheremetev (russian: Шереме́тевы) was one of the wealthiest and most influential noble families in Russia descending from Feodor Koshka who was of Old Prussian origin. History The family held many high commanding rank ...

was elevated to general feldmarshall. All of the participating officers were gifted money and regular soldiers a freshly minted silver ducat. In Moscow a huge victory celebration was held, along with cannon volleys, thanksgiving services, and free wine, beer, mead and vodka. A firework ended the celebration in the evening.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erastfer, Battle Of Erastfer Military history of Estonia Erastfer Erastfer 1701 in Europe Conflicts in 1701 Kanepi Parish 18th century in Estonia